Gas burners, or “torches,” are commonly used in the industrial arts for producing a very hot flame to hand work material such as glass and quartz. These devices are also used by jewelers, metal workers, and silversmiths. They can also have other uses including heating plastics. These burners are capped off by faceplates made of heat resistant material, typically stainless steel. Gases enter the body of the burner from a source sealed with a valve. Valves are used to meter the gas into the burner body by the user as needed. Gases travel from the burner body to the surface of the faceplate through a series of tubes, conduits, and isolated chambers. The greater the number of different gases, the more intricate the tubing, conduit, and chamber structure within the burner. Gases travel through these inner workings and to the surface of the faceplate through a series of strategically placed openings, or “jets.” These jets enable the gases to travel to the faceplate surface with laminar flow. The shape of the jet greatly affects the effectiveness of laminar flow. Laminar flow is desired as it promotes a safer, more stable, and more controllable flame.
Jets also have great influence over the chemistries, temperatures, and other characteristics of the flames. If the jet is shaped even slightly differently, flame attributes can change drastically. Poor jet design and shape can lead to turbulent flow, inadequate mix of multiple gases, unstable flames, discoloration of glass, unwanted impurities (called “scumming”) and a number of other consequences that make flames unsuitable for glass working. The jet shape, in conjunction with chemistry, can also affect the physical characteristics of the flame, including its width, smoothness, and intensity.
Gas burners containing laminar flow jets that minimize the aforementioned unwanted effects are highly desirable in the glass working industry. Preferred burners also employ an array of multiple laminar flow jets, each able to concurrently emit two, sometimes more, distinct gases.
Multiple gases can be used individually or simultaneously, and can be manipulated to achieve reduction, neutral, oxidized, and over-oxidized flame chemistries. In this context, flame chemistry refers to the resultant flame properties caused by the mixture of two or more gases, typically oxygen gas and carbon-based fuel. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to get the most complete combustion out of the gasses for maximum efficiency and to enhance flame chemistry and heat density throughout the entire flame range. The laminar flow jet of the present invention provides maximum control over the flame to manipulate multiple flame characteristics.
Burners obtain these chemistries not only through appropriate jet shape, but also through exact alignment and axial concentricity of the inner tubes, conduits, and chambers that supply the different gases. The orientation of the jet on the gas burner faceplate also affects flame characteristics. This requires a difficult manufacturing process but is essential in establishing a laminar gas flow that produces a high quality and efficient flame (i.e. greatly reducing unburned gases).
Production costs increase significantly as the number of jets in the faceplate array increases. This is due, in part, to the greater number of holes and openings that must be manufactured into the faceplate to create effective laminar flow jets. Therefore more efficient jet design allows for fewer jets in the faceplate to equal the same heat output as torches requiring many more jets in the faceplate.
Efficient jets allow the use of alternative oxygen sources that have lower pressure and flow capabilities. Alternative oxygen sources are becoming widely used in the form of onsite oxygen concentrators and generators due to the increasing cost of tanked oxygen.
Therefore, this invention also aims to reduce the number of openings in the faceplate, as needed, without affecting the jets' ability to produce laminar flow and maintain desired flame chemistries. Some embodiments of the present invention accomplish this goal with a two-gas jet, while others utilize a three-gas, multiple opening, multiple tube configuration.
There is therefore a need in the art for a shape and structure of a laminar flow jet and its use in a gas burner, both singularly and in an array, to provide users with enhanced adjustability over flame chemistries, without sacrificing control and stability of multiple gases so that high quality flame and desired chemistries are preserved.